Transforming Food Systems – Unlocking the Power of Neglected and Underutilized Crops
Despite their rich nutrition and deep cultural roots, NUS crops are still missing from modern food systems. It’s time to bring them back—into our farms, onto our plates, and into the future of sustainable food.
Importance of NUS: Nutritional Value, Climate Resilience, Cultural Roots
NUS crops are rich in essential nutrients, making them powerful allies in the fight against malnutrition and food insecurity. Their ability to thrive in diverse and challenging environments makes them inherently climate-resilient. Additionally, these crops carry deep cultural significance, forming a vital part of local food traditions and agricultural heritage.
The Opportunity: Transforming Food Systems
Reviving and mainstreaming NUS is not just about preserving biodiversity—it’s a strategic move to build more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient food systems. These crops offer untapped potential to address global challenges related to nutrition, climate change, and agricultural sustainability. Unlocking this potential is key to transforming how the world grows and consumes food.
Why Promote NUS?
Sustainable Farming
NUS crops require fewer resources, thrive in harsh climates, and promote biodiversity, making them essential for building sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural systems. Their ability to adapt to diverse environments also supports local farmers, ensuring long-term food security and resilience in the face of climate change.
Inclusive Agriculture
By valuing indigenous knowledge and empowering women and smallholder farmers, NUS crops promote equitable food systems and strengthen rural communities. Women play a central role in the cultivation, processing, and preparation by preserving traditional knowledge, ensuring household nutrition, and driving local market participation through seed saving and value addition.
Solving Food Issues
Rich in nutrients and climate-resilient, NUS crops provide sustainable solutions to combat malnutrition and ensure food security. Women play a pivotal role in the cultivation, processing, and consumption of these crops, significantly enhancing household nutrition and promoting dietary diversity. By integrating indigenous knowledge, women help build resilient food systems, driving the diversification of diets for healthier communities.
Crops to Promote & Their Benefits
Pulses
Horsegram, Moth bean, Green gram, Black gram, Groundnut, Lab Lab, Winged Bean
- Grow well in poor soils with little water
- Excellent source of plant-based protein
- Rich in iron, folate, and dietary fiber
- Improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation
- Affordable, nutrient-dense food for low-income communities
Millets
Little millet, Finger millet, Browntop millet, Foxtail millet, Barnyard millet, Kodo millet
- Thrive in dry, low-rainfall areas with minimal inputs
- High in calcium, iron, and essential micronutrients
- Rich source of dietary fiber for digestive health
- Naturally gluten-free and suitable for gluten-intolerant diets
- Low glycemic index—helps manage diabetes and obesity
Vegetables
Amaranth, Moringa, Sponge gourd, Ridge gourd, Cluster bean, Bitter gourd, Roselle, Okra, Byadgi Chilli, Purple Yam
- Packed with vitamins A, C, iron, and calcium
- Fast-growing and ideal for home or community gardens
- Help regulate blood sugar and support immunity
- Promote dietary diversity and combat hidden hunger
- Culturally rooted in traditional and local cuisines
Fruits
Indian Gooseberry, Jackfruit, Javaplum, Papaya, Musk melon, Gauva
- Rich in nutrients and used in traditional medicine
- Tolerant to dry climates and poor soils
- Valued for digestive and medicinal benefits
- Natural coolant and supports hydration
Oil Crops
Groundnut sesame
- Source of Healthy Fats – Provide essential fatty acids for brain and heart health
- Rich in Energy – High oil content makes them energy-dense, ideal for boosting stamina
- Supports Skin & Hair – Nutrients like vitamin E nourish skin and promote hair growth
- Boosts Immunity – Contain antioxidants and micronutrients that enhance the immune system
Roots & Tubers
Lesser Yam & Purple Yam
- High in Carbohydrates – Excellent source of energy, especially for active individuals
- Good for Digestion – Packed with dietary fiber, aiding gut health and bowel movement
- Rich in Micronutrients – Provide potassium, vitamin C, and other essential nutrients.
- Helps in Blood Sugar Control – Many have a low to moderate glycemic index.
A Campaign on revival and promotion of NUS
The Need for Visibility
Yes, we need a campaign—because without visibility, NUS crops will remain on the margins, despite their enormous potential. This campaign is about sparking real change—transforming our food systems to become more diverse, resilient, and equitable from the ground up.
Bringing NUS Back into Focus
Our mission is to bring NUS crops back into focus, starting with farmers and local communities and extending all the way to end consumers. By promoting their cultivation, research, and consumption, we aim to unlock the full value of these often-overlooked crops.
Promoting Cultivation, Research, and Consumption
We’re launching a movement to return NUS crops to the spotlight—on farms, in markets, and on our plates. Through strategic collaborations with retailers and compelling content from farm-based influencers, we’re raising awareness, shifting perceptions, and driving adoption. Combined with advocacy efforts, this campaign supports the creation of a more diverse, nutritious, and climate-resilient food future.
Campaign Strategies
Retailer Campaigns
Through strategic partnerships with local and regional retailers, we launched in-store promotions, featured NUS products on endcaps, and developed co-branded educational materials.
These efforts introduced consumers to NUS crops in familiar shopping environments, emphasizing their nutritional value, culinary versatility, and environmental resilience.
Farm Influencer Videos
Featuring real farmers growing and sharing their experiences with NUS crops, these stories highlight the cultural value and practical benefits of these resilient species.
We collaborate with trusted agricultural influencers, who will showcase the cultivation, benefits, and uses of NUS crops.
Community Engagement
Where food traditions are rooted—through vibrant, hands-on experiences that celebrate culture, knowledge, and biodiversity.
We host seed fairs, food festivals, cooking demonstrations, cooking competitions, and theme-based drawing contests to spark curiosity, creativity, and pride in local food heritage.
Through social media storytelling, we amplify community voices and traditional wisdom, making NUS crops visible, relevant, and inspiring for a new generation of eaters, growers, and changemakers.
Our Recent Events
Retailer Meet Hosted with Lemon Leaf Organics at Hubli on 3rd May 2025
Through strategic partnerships with local and regional retailers, we launched in-store promotions, featured NUS products on endcaps, and developed co-branded educational materials.
These efforts introduced consumers to NUS crops in familiar shopping environments, emphasizing their nutritional value, culinary versatility, and environmental resilience.
Retailer Meet Hosted with Agricart Organics in Dharwad on 10th May 2025
A focused campaign highlighting the importance of Forgotten Crops, in collaboration with the Agricart Organic Store at Dharwad. Over 100 consumers attended the event, showing enthusiastic interest in learning about and tasting a variety of dishes prepared using NUS.
This campaign not only reconnected consumers with forgotten culinary traditions but also encouraged healthier, climate-resilient food choices through local and sustainable sourcing.
Retailer Meet Hosted with Sahaja Organics in Bangalore on 27th May 2025
A Nutritional Awareness and Organic Retailers Meet was held in Bangalore on 27th May 2025 to highlight the health benefits of nutrient-dense underutilized species. The event featured an introduction to value-added products developed by our women’s group, followed by an engaging discussion with organic retailers—key players in influencing consumer choices.
Around 45 successful organic store owners from across Bangalore participated, sharing insights on how retailers can play a crucial role in converting consumers to healthier, sustainable food options. The dialogue emphasized collaborative strategies for product development, branding, and positioning NUS-based value-added products as premium offerings in the growing organic marketplace.
Retailer Meet hosted with Swasthya Naturals at Haveri on 1st June 2025
A Nutritional Awareness Campaign was organized in collaboration with Swasthya Naturals, a retail organic store in Haveri, Karnataka, on 1st June 2025. The event focused on educating the public about the critical role of nutrition in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Esteemed doctors and health professionals shared valuable insights on the importance of nutrition for the human body, emphasizing the benefits of incorporating millets, fresh vegetables, and naturally grown foods into daily diets. The sessions highlighted how locally sourced, organic produce, rooted in our agricultural traditions, can be a powerful foundation for holistic well-being.
The campaign aimed to promote awareness around mindful eating and encouraged the community to return to nature by choosing food that is both sustainable and health-enhancing
Nutrition awareness campaign -Hubli on 3 June 2025
We organized a Nutrition Awareness Campaign on 03-06-2025 in Hubli, Karnataka, where doctors and nutritionists addressed the audience and educated them on healthier diets and better lifestyle practices.
Nutrition awareness campaign - Hubli 7 June 2025
We have organized a Nutrition Awareness Campaign on 07-06-2025 in Hubli, Karnataka, with the aim of promoting healthier diets and better lifestyle practices.
The event brought together doctors, certified nutritionists, fitness coaches, and wellness experts who addressed the audience and shared valuable insights on holistic health.
Be a Voice for Forgotten Crops
Join us in transforming food systems from the ground up—by putting forgotten crops back on the plate. Whether you’re a policymaker, a development partner, a chef, or a farmer, your voice and actions can help unlock the potential of NUS for people and the planet.